The Issaquah City Council has thrown its support behind Best Starts For Kids in the general election. The council authorized its endorsement of a property tax levy supporting Best Starts by a 4-3 vote at its regular meeting Monday night.

The King County program is an initiative to invest public funds in health prevention and intervention programs for children and young adults. King County Proposition 1, if approved by voters on Nov. 3, would instate a six-year property tax at a rate of 14 cents or less per $1,000 of assessed value, with allowances for the rate to increase up to 3 percent per year.

Half of the funding would be dedicated to children 5 and younger and 35 percent to 5- to 24-year-olds. Ten percent would be used for community programs such as affordable housing and 5 percent would be used for data collection and analysis of all Best Starts programs.

Barb de Michele, the program director of the Issaquah Schools Foundation’s Healthy Youth Initiative, said data from the 2014 Healthy Youth Survey showed Issaquah teens could benefit from Best Starts programs for combating depression and substance abuse.

“Sixteen percent of students report high levels of anxiety or anxiety disorders, well above state averages,” she said. “You may be wondering if there’s something in Issaquah’s water that we have these kinds of results.”

Council President Paul Winterstein said the programs would fulfill a “critical, essential need within the community” at an average cost of $85 a year for Issaquah homeowners.

Councilor Joshua Schaer, who voted against endorsing the levy, said he questioned several elements of the program, including county language referring to “children aged 5 through 24.”

“I think it’s going to pass because it’s called Best Starts For Kids,” he said. “You can’t vote against kids. I don’t think it would pass if it were called ‘Taxation with Somewhat of a Plan.’”

Schaer also noted that residents of Issaquah would face several other possible tax increases in 2016, including the mayor’s recommended 1 percent property tax increase, utilities fee increases, a $500 million-plus Issaquah School District levy and a transportation package from the city.

“It all adds up for homeowners in our community,” Schaer said.